San Francisco Sues Oil Companies Over Climate Change

San Francisco is suing five of the world’s largest oil and gas companies for the costs of sea walls and other infrastructure needed to protect against climate change.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday in California court accuses the companies of ignoring warnings that fossil fuels would cause catastrophic global warming and mounting campaigns to discredit climate change science. It says the companies have created a public nuisance. The neighboring city of Oakland filed a separate, but similar suit.

The five companies include Chevron, Exxon Mobil and ConocoPhillips. Chevron said in a statement that it welcomes serious attempts to address climate change, but these suits do not do that.

ExxonMobil said the claims in the lawsuits were without merit. ConocoPhillips said it doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

At least two other California counties and one city have filed similar suits.